To save you from hunting through the docs and locating downloads, we gather both databases here and walk you through installing them using SQL Server Management Studio Express -- updated for SQL Server 2008 Express Edition!

Introduction

The Northwind and Pubs sample databases are staples of other sample code on this and other development websites. They are used in countless tutorials and walkthroughs published by Microsoft and others. Being a SQL/SQL Server newbie myself, I figured there may be others in my boat who might want both databases in an easily-accessible spot, and an easier, less error-prone way of installing them into SQL Server 2008 Express Edition than, say, running SQL query scripts.

There have been requests for an update to my SQL Server 2005 article for SQL Server 2008; so, by popular demand, here is the update! This article is based on an installation of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express Edition with Tools, Service Pack 1, on a machine with Microsoft Windows Vista Business, Service Pack 1, installed.

I was not 100% sure at first whether to write this new article -- because the user-interface in SQL Server Express 2008 Management Studio is virtually identical to that of the 2005 edition -- but decided to anyway, just so to distinguish between the two versions and to assist users who come up with errors or issues which may possibly be unique to the 2008 version; these errors can be posted and discussed here, separate from the 2005 version's article.

Audience

SQL Server beginners and database development beginners are the audience for whom this article is written.

I wrote this back in 2007, when I myself was just starting out with SQL Server. I was searching the documentation and came upon samples making use of the Northwind and the Pubs databases. However, I was unable to find anything in MSDN that actually walked one through installing them in SQL Server Management Studio. Therefore, back then I wrote this article, so as to help other SQL Server beginners.

This is NOT a copy & paste article. I am an experienced technical writer, and an astrophysicist. Perhaps it may be the case that Microsoft has already posted new documentation on installing databases into SQL Server Management Studio graphically; however, at the time this article was originally posted back in 2005, at the time I had been unable to locate an equivalent article in the Microsoft documentation; hence, I wrote my own, which has evolved into this article.

So, enjoy this article, for what it's worth.

Background

It's lost on me why one must use *.sql query scripts to install these samples. It's also lost on me why SQL Server distributions don't come with these databases provided, since they are used so ubiquitously through documentation, websites, and tutorials. There are probably several good reasons for this. However, I am focused on usability, and not on making things harder than they have to be.

There undoubtedly will be readers who will protest and say that I should use *.sql query files whenever possible; this is good and a perfectly acceptable practice. For example, if you have complex queries or you need to attach several databases in a batch, then *.sql query files can be very useful. I see this article as illustrating just another way to accomplish a similar objective.

It's worth noting, for example, that a default Visual Studio .NET 2008 Professional Edition installation does not distribute these databases. Unlike the previous version of Visual Studio .NET, it does not even go part-way by installing the required SQL Scripts --- at least, I have not been able to locate them with the latest version. The download attached to this article contains the latest version of the Northwind and Pubs database files as distributed by Microsoft on MSDN.

Personally, I favor using graphical (GUI) tools and methods over typing cryptic commands and deciphering error messages. So, this article illustrates how to install the Northwind and Pubs databases using graphical tools and methods.

Steps: Installing the Northwind and Pubs Databases

Note: The steps above make use of SQL Server Management Studio Express, which sometimes doesn't install along with a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express Edition install. For this case, you need to install SQL Server 2008 Express with Tools from this website.

Step 1: Using the download link above, download the Zip file containing the following files. Extract the files to a directory on your computer and remember where you put them. For these steps to work, you must have the following files on your computer:

NORTHWND.MDF

NORTHWND.LDF

PUBS.LDF

PUBS.MDF

Note: Make sure that you have read-write access to these files, and that they are in an easily-accessible directory. For ease-of-use, I suggest using C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Data, or its analogy on your system, which is where Microsoft SQL Server 2008 prefers to store flat database files.

Step 2: On the Start menu, click All Programs, open the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 folder, and then click SQL Server Management Studio.

Step 3: Right-click the Databases folder and then click Attach, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. The Object Explorer window

Step 4: In the Attach Databases window, click Add....

The system prompts you for the proper *.mdf file using the Locate Database File window, as shown below in Figure 3.

Figure 3. The Locate Database File window

Step 5: Locate and click on the NORTHWND.MDF file, and then click OK.

The right pane of the Attach Databases window will look as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. The right pane of the Attach Databases window after adding the Northwind database

Step 6: Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the PUBS.MDF file.

When you're done, and if you did the proper actions, the right pane of the Attach Databases window should look as displayed in Figure 5.

Figure 5. The right pane of the Attach Databases window after adding the Pubs database

Step 7: In the Attach Databases window, click OK. The window displays the progress of the operation and whether it has completed successfully.

Step 8: To check that everything was successful, in the Object Explorer window, click the plus sign to open the Databases folder.

The Northwind and Pubs databases will be displayed, as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6. The Object Explorer after importing the Northwind and Pubs databases

Where to Go for Help

Feel free to email me with specific questions about this article, and I will be happy to explain. I also want to invite you to make use of the forums at the bottom of this article. I wish you well and happy programming.

History

In this section, I will keep a running history of the changes and updates I've made to this article:

18 Oct 2013, 10:57 AM Pacific: Article updated with an 'Audience' section to quell any objections as to this being merely a 'copy & paste' article. It's not.

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About the Author

From Fridley, Minnesota and I like computer programming! When I got started, I was working mostly with Windows GUI programming in C/C++. Then later on I worked with COM/DCOM for a school internship. I used COM/DCOM to write an ad hoc cluster server and job-running environment for a cluster of 24 Windows-based high-end visualization workstations. I moved on to C# and have been working in C# and Windows Forms ever since. I have yet to embrace Silverlight

Nice article. I went looking for NorthwindTraders to do a bit of self study in SQL server 2012 and came across this article which was what I needed. However, Microsoft have a different example database now called Adventure WorksClick the link to the codeplex download area.

I am well aware of that new Database, and by the way it's titled 'AdventureWorks,' no space in the name; however, some of the older examples still use the Northwind and Pubs databases. I figure, well, if you are looking up docs on some db method or something and you just so happen to bump into a reference to the Northwind or Pubs database, it's especially problematical, now given what you just mentioned.

How would you like to be a newbie, open up some old walkthrough stepping you through a development phase with the Northwind database, and then you search and search, only to find there is no link anymore or that it's hard to find?

On Attach a got a failure. Operating system error 5: "5(failed to retrieve text for this error. Reason: 15105)". So I looked for permissions on the downloaded folder. For some reason it was read only. So I fixed it and gave full permissions to the MDF file to other users on the computer just in case. Tried to attach again and it worked as a charm. Thanks for tutorial.

Thanks mate! I too was confused by all these command line and query based instructions. I had a couple of access warnings when I went to follow your instructions. As a newbie that's always unnerving but your instructions were perfect and gave me the knowledge to follow through with the install.

FINALLY I have SQL Server working properly for me - that's a breakthrough on my project that was originally built over MS Access but needs to be over SQL to be marketable.